Background: Saving the climate or destroying culture? Energy renovation at the crossroads
The distance from bearer of hope to problem case can be short as is shown by the current situation of energy-efficient refurbishments in Germany. In the country that, up to now, has often been regarded as a pioneer with regard to energy-efficient building, it is possible to ascertain how far political intentions and the reality of energy renovation can be removed from one another - and how far there is to go until all the building stock in Europe has been renovated. rnIn its energy concept, published in autumn 2010, the German Federal Government announced that it is aiming for a 'climate-neutral' building stock by 2050. The proportion of all buildings in Germany that are renovated to improve their energy efficiency each year would therefore have to double from 1 % to 2 %. Five years later, the political targets still remain. But the public discussion on energy renovation has changed considerably, being regularly fuelled by newspaper articles and television documentaries with titles such as, "The Madness of Thermal Insulation". Their message in brief: The energy renovation of buildings is damaging to building culture, does not make economic sense, and is ecologically absurd as a lot of the insulation material used is non-recyclable. rnThe change in direction is now also noticeable in the real-estate market. In a recent survey of real-estate agents, 44 % of all those questioned said that the energy standard of apartment buildings no longer had any influence on rent levels. At the same time, more estate agents than ever before reported that buyers and tenants have become less concerned with the energy standard of buildings. rnTo find ways to resolve the present situation, a holistic consideration of all levels of energy renovation is essential. These are far more varied than is suggested in public discourse, which is often reduced to the conflict between ecology and economy.
